


Tremors

by A_Hippo_Named_Saelym (Kairacahra1869)



Series: Do it for Josh, He deserves it [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Character Death, Josh's Mind, is this another introspective take on Josh?, you bet your rootin tootin mind it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 21:39:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18106985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairacahra1869/pseuds/A_Hippo_Named_Saelym
Summary: As the dust settles, Josh settles as well and wanders down a path of slight hysteria.Day three of Josh Appreciation Week "Sadness"





	Tremors

**Author's Note:**

> Not much to say, more ramblings because I like to think Josh is a rambler in his mind.

Josh is sitting in a hastily made barricade, surrounded by masked humans in full riot gear with only words and a flimsy, potential, back up plan- by yet another random android showing up precisely when they’re needed- preventing their deaths and dismantlement. Leaving the barricade means certain death. Staying in it means prolonged death. Attempting to fortify it, even more, means aggravated death. Markus already talked to them once, so trying any further would just instigate a more violent response, which would result in death.

He thinks, perhaps, he should feel something, maybe the righteous anger North keeps compacted and portable, readily accessible in any encounter. Perhaps feel indignation, like Markus has taken to, pacing back and forth, brows practically permanently furrowed. Maybe he should feel frustration as he looks around and takes note of their missing fourth member. Josh definitely _wanted_ to be angry when they initially left Simon behind. As the oldest member of Jericho, it felt wrong that he should sacrifice himself for this new Android, effectively declaring Markus the new official “leader” of them, unable to do much else at the moment.

He definitely felt something, but nothing he thinks he should be feeling. The situation is certainly bleak enough and, if Josh really wanted to be petty and bitter, preventable had they not put themselves out there so soon.

However, there was no anger left for Josh to feel, no bitterness, not even a bit of disgruntlement.

And that itself was bothersome, as this could very well be their last stand. Josh should be feeling something more than this… emptiness. The final moment and it wouldn't even be a spectacular final moment. They're crammed in a small enclosure, and part of their people are scattered around encampments hastily erected and barricaded through Detroit.

 It was depressing. Josh no longer felt the fear shaking him or the wariness choking him. He doesn't feel regret but he also doesn't feel content. There is nothing to feel. They've gotten somewhere, and the optimist would rejoice in the ripples they've made these past few days. The pessimist would lament about how abruptly their movement came to an end.

 Josh is neither and he says that both are naive, and perhaps even ignorant and disrespectful for how real movements work. No one has ever changed an entire society's mindset in less than a week. It takes years, normally a lot of violence, and countless attempts at dialogue and negotiation, public and private, locally, nationally, even internationally. In the end, the most valuable asset movements have isn't support, it isn't their voice, it isn't even the actual creed they run by: it's time. Time can get them support and increased numbers; can gradually raise and multiply their voices; can unify ideas and strengthen core values.

 Time is the deciding factor in every movement. It’s utterly foolish and, frankly, disrespectful of any of them to think they could easily sway humans with a few marches and pretty words and speeches in three days rather than the decades it took for humans to think “radical” thoughts such as “Maybe… just maybe, having dark skin isn’t as bad as we make it out to be.” Josh finds it slightly-hysterically- comedic that of those to survive as the face of Jericho, its three androids that have the physical characteristics of the two most oppressed and silenced human groups in world history. He wonders if this truly were the end if that would incite any sort of reaction from the human supporters they’ve gained.

 Josh can, all too easily, imagine the trending pages of popular social media sites and the clever and catchy tags of the posts on them as humans, late (always too damn late), form a social movement of their own around their dead “heroes”. Or, no they wouldn’t be heroes, that would imply they saved someone and, as it stands, they’ve doomed their species. Josh recalls his years monitoring his students' social media and realises that they wouldn’t be given any sort of formal title, rather, they’d probably be relegated as a couple of 'real niggas and head bitch, the highest praise among the oppressed groups. Josh wouldn’t mind it, he thinks, though he feels nostalgic of the era of Kings and Queens. Guess it just goes to show that, while many words will change their meaning and go in and out of style, those that have a more taboo feel to them will remain timeless and always in usage.

 Josh stares blankly ahead. His thoughts, rather than being all over the place, seem to be taking drastic turns but remaining somewhat linear. He finds he doesn’t feel much about them, slightly amusing to him as they are. Maybe this is the equivalent of human hysteria? But, Josh doesn’t feel like he’s going crazy or losing track of himself. He just feels… tired. Done. He might not have been a part of the movement for as long as some of the other androids around him, and for some he’s practically a relic of the original core of Jericho, but he likes to think he had a relatively long life, given the life expectancy of androids were a couple of years at best, with several upgrades, and a couple of months at worst, when said upgrades couldn’t be applied to them. He still doesn’t feel content, but Josh is ok with this blankness that has taken over.

 His body is shaking, he doesn’t know how long it has been or even why, but focusing on them- because they shouldn’t be given with how he doesn’t feel the cold and shouldn’t have a human response such as this- clears his mind and then he truly is nothing.

 A gasp rings out, Josh doesn’t know where from, but its quickly followed by several more and a murmuring of… relief?

 Josh has one thought, as he turns his head and tries to focus on the distant mass of something coming towards them. _Melancholy and desensitisation is often a precursor or sign of onset depression._

**Author's Note:**

> Not much to finish us off with other than, yeah Simon is dead. Sorry for those who were looking forward to him, but I honestly feel like his story ended, for me, with his death, specifically via Connor forcing an interface and then the subsequent suicide. To me, that was a powerful enough moment for him that it is in my permanent world state canon. I'm not a fan of Big Sacrifices turning into a moot point because the sacrificer survives anyway. That undermines them, in my opinion, and is just unnecessary drama and mind-fuckery for other characters in most cases. Such as this case in where Simon, if left alone or not found, just waltzes back into Jericho, battered but a-ok. It's very anti-climatic for me. Then again, I never really bonded with Simon and it's only via fandom that I feel like he has been given actual characterisation, so it could be a personal bias.
> 
> Ok, so maybe I had much to say.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for getting through this. There's a server about Josh and his ASS, so come join us there! https://discord.gg/7QVtz86


End file.
